High School: My perfect year (ON HOLD)

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I stare after him in awe, shocked at the news that I have just received. I hear Holly and Mina running up behind me in the parking lot, quick to comfort me, to reassure me, to tell me that there are plenty of fish in the sea. They quickly surround me, asking if I’m okay, telling me that it was no big deal, and that it was only temporary, he’d come running back and then, most likely out of guilt, I’d take him back. But that’s where they were wrong, I thought subtly as I blocked them out.

 I wouldn’t take him back, not now, not ever. I mean, who in his right mind would actually sort-of physically, harass a girl? Pushing me against the lockers, and yelling in my face? He’d never done that before, obviously this was the side of him that I’d never seen before. Maybe it wasn’t just a side to him; maybe he was finally showing his true self. I shrugged off the thought, because whatever had occurred, had occurred, and there was literally no way that I could avoid or fix it. ‘Unless…’ A little devil popped up on my shoulder, prompting me to consider the other option. ‘Unless you forgive him…Take him back!’ I laughed quietly, sarcastically. Yeah, right. Why in the world would I do that? ‘Because you’re weak.’ The little devil sneered. I groaned inwardly. I am not! I persisted. ‘Yeah you are. You would take him back in a heartbeat, if you could.’ Shut up! I thought, and imagined myself flicking him off my shoulder.

 I sighed in relief when he stopped pestering me. ‘Good.’ My conscience praised me. ‘Now that he’s gone, you can consider that option. Maybe.’ I sighed. Did I really want to consider it? Not really. “And as I was saying…” I pay attention to my friends as they explain reasons why I shouldn’t forgive him. “Number one,” Mina states, “You’re obviously too good for him.” I shrug nonchalantly. “How so?” I question, curious for her reason to say so. 

“Well…Uh…” She stalled, flustered. “I’m just trying to compliment you, alright?!” She snapped, obviously embarrassed. “Hey Mina.” I spoke softly, gently touching her arm. “It’s okay. I was just curious.” “Ya I know.” She responded gruffly, but accepting my apology. “Okay, do you want other reasons?” Holly asked, clearly concerned about my state of mind. “Or is one fine?” “One’s fine, guys. Thanks.” I reassured them, looking them straight in the eye. How thoughtful. But then again, it’s not like I was bawling my eyes out while eating 5 whole cartons of Ben & Jerry’s Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream.

     “My ride’s here.” Holly piped up, almost apologetically. “I’m giving Mina a ride. See you tomorrow?” I waved them off. “Sure. I’ll text you.” I watched them cross to the far end of the school’s parking lot, and then made my way home. Walking into my neighborhood, I took in its’ beauty. There were little houses, sitting row by row, each one different than the next, surrounded by well manicured lawns. On the lawns were various flower gardens, children’s bikes, soccer balls, things that made you see that the house was lived in, cared for. I walked up to one of neighborhood’s many mailboxes, and opened up our compartment. It was in section #3, mailbox number 4. It was like a mini post office. I took out the little key from my backpack, and put it in the tiny key slot. I turned the latch, and when it popped open, I reached inside, pulling out a pile of mail. Hoisting my bag higher up on my shoulder,   I continued down the road towards my house, flipping through the mail. “Bills, bills, bills, receipts, oh! And look at that! More bills!” I said, a sarcastic bite in my voice. To block out my annoyance, I put in my earphones and press play on my Ipod. "Every time our song comes on..." I hum, smiling to myself. “It only reminds me of you…” I continue, completely oblivious to the world around me. I am full out singing along to the song, ignoring the fact that I sound really crappy. Oh well. If people don’t want to hear my singing (Which I’ve been told over and over- Apparently I sound like a beached whale) then I don’t give a shit. They can just deal with it. I sigh almost instantaneously, giving in to the bitterness. Hey, people can’t just expect me to be happy all the time, right? I mean, people break down too, it’s not like they’re happy 24/7! Do they really expect me to break up with my boyfriend and not break down? Don’t think of him, don’t think of him… I chanted mentally. Don’t think of him! My brain warned me. Despite my efforts, it was too late. Xavier… I turn his name around and around in my mind, tears threatening to spill out of my eyes. I am such a coward! Finally, I break down and cry. I stumble across the street, which is really stupid of me, because well, I can hardly see! Hastily wiping my eyes, I try and stop the flowing tears. But to no avail, they keep coming  down in buckets. I keep wiping the tears away, but I know it's no use. For some reason, I feel embarrassed. I really don’t know why, because aren’t you supposed to cry after a breakup? Especially after a bad breakup… Well yeah, I suppose the reason that I’m so embarrassed is because I’m crying in public… Which tends to be a little more exposed, you know? I keep running random thoughts in my head, totally occupied that I don’t notice that I had bumped into something- Or someone. I hit what feels like a brick wall, which wouldn’t be surprising, because my tears had blurred my vision a lot. And I had taken off my glasses so I could wipe my eyes, so that explains a lot too. “Oof!” I fly backwards, my glasses skittering out of my hand onto the pavement. I land on my butt, and am stunned for a few moments. I reach out for my glasses, (I’m not THAT blind) and shove them on, prepared to tell the person who bumped into me exactly what I thought of their stupid little- I stop in my rant as my eyes adjust and stare at who I had bumped into. Dark brown hair, chocolate brown eyes, and, from the looks of it, a nicely toned 6 pack. Gorgeous. “Oh, um, sorry about that…” I trail off sheepishly, glancing around. My eyes dart around to various items in my part of the neighborhood, looking at everything except into his eyes. His gorgeous, gorgeous eyes! “It’s fine.” He says slowly, and I smile at his voice. It’s deep and sexy… Mmm. ‘You’re turning red!” A tiny version of Mina appears on my shoulder, apparently replacing the angel. Hmm. I blush when she says that, which probably makes my cheeks even redder. I can feel my cheeks flaming, so that just confirms my suspicions even further. “I’m Trey.” He extends his hand, expecting me to shake it. For a few moments I stare it at blankly, forgetting myself, forgetting everything that I’ve ever learned. Trey. I turn his name over and over in my head, smiling to myself. “I’m Kylie.” I look at him, smiling slightly, coyly biting my lip. I’ve been practicing that look, yeah I admit it, and I had perfected it over the summer. “Nice to meet you, Kylie.” He croons that deep voice of his. Like I said, sexy.

Um… Are you okay?” He asks me, noticing my smeared makeup and bloodshot eyes. “Yeah, I’m fine.” I say quickly, rubbing my eyes. Well, that was stupid. I probably just messed up my makeup even more. “Here, um Kylie.” He hands me a tissue. I shoot him an appreciative glance and accept the tissue, dabbing my eyes lightly. “Can I do anything for you? You know, take you out for coffee, and tutor you… things like that.” I stare at him, confused. “Not that you need tutoring, of course!” He quickly backtracks. “Oh, no, that’s fine.” I laugh lightly. “And thanks.”  “No problem.” He said, looking at me in the eye. “But are you sure?” He asked again. “Yes, I’m sure. But if you’re really that worried, I could give you my number.” I said without thinking. Immediately after, I blushed. “I mean, so you can check up on me and stuff…” I quickly backtracked, hating how straightforward that had sounded. “Sure Kylie. So what is your number?” He hadn’t noticed my sudden case of complete embarrassment. I sighed in relief, and then recited my number. “604-802-2852.” I watched as he programmed it into his phone. “And yours?” I prompted. “I’ll text you.” He said, winking. “Later.” And with that, he was gone.

I continued home in a trance, smiling to myself. Trey. I wonder what

his last name was. Well, whatever, I was sure that I’d see him soon. And sure enough, I was right. I turned on my phone, and checked my messages. A few from my phone company, one (surprisingly!) from Xavier, and a couple from Trey. I opened the text from Xavier first.

Hey Kyles. Look, I’m sorry for the way that I overreacted, but you should know better than to aggravate me. I know I’m hot-

I didn’t even bother reading the rest of it, automatically deleting the text. What a jerk! I can’t believe I had ever gone out with that self centered idiot. Now, the text from Trey. I couldn’t help but fell excited, although I didn’t quite know why.

Hey. I was wondering if you wanted to meet up for coffee sometime. :)  -Trey

I texted him back quickly.

Sure! Starbucks, the one down the street from school? - Kylie

His reply came immediately.

Okay. Does 4 sound good?

Great! See you then!